Thursday, July 25, 2013

Our favorite place to visit in Colorado is Garden of the Gods. Every time we go, Garden of the Gods is top on the list. The sandstone rock formations are simply gorgeous. We have so much fun exploring! We got there later in the day after we had gone to the bug museum and the zoo and thought the boys might not want to hike, but they leaped out of the car. They were not missing this!

C having fun on the boulders

J exploring nooks and crannies

After our long day, we needed some more carbs for dinner, so we headed to Fargo's for pizza. It's our favorite pizza place. The pizza and the atmosphere are great. Nothing like it anywhere else. We slept well that evening, let me tell you.

Interior of Fargo's

The next day was my birthday so I got to pick the day's activities. We headed out for some rock collecting and thrifting fun. We had seen this rock shop on a previous day's drive and wanted to check it out. The variety of rocks was staggering! Oh my gosh, were they all amazing! I got a pair of agate bookends, an elk medicine bag and a crystal point. C got a spongy calcite rock he's going to turn into a lamp (like a salt lamp) for his room and J got a piece of obsidian. Then we thrifting where I got several books and embroidered wall art for my sister.

petrified wood table

River rock sinks

A couple of days before we left, I read in the paper about a Native American hoop dancer performing nearby, so we went to check it out. She was wonderful and I loved talking with her and her husband afterward. He plays the drum and sings, while she makes all the costumes and performs. Their daughter also performs with them, but she had just had a baby girl.

After the hoop dancers we went for a drive to a new (to us) hiking spot, but there was a police stop. Apparently, a couple had broken into someone's home and then fled on foot into the canyon! So instead we went to the river for some water play.

Camouflaged snake

The next day, we tried our hike again. We headed towards Red Rock Canyon Park. We stopped along the way when we spotted the stream. We spent an hour or so playing and then drove to the park.

The creek was a cool treat on a hot day

Entering Red Rock Canyon

Mike had been to Red Rock Canyon when he was a kid and was tickled to show us around. The boys had so much fun hiking and climbing. It was narrow through the main section and had some great twists and turns. And we kept aware of the fact that this was mountain lion territory, too.

A view from a ridgetop

An old schoolhouse being restored with the traditional adobe brick.

We had a great time throughout and hope everyone is having a great summer. We're happy to be home and are busy in the garden. The weeds made it look like a jungle after all the rain we've had here! Bright blessings.

"Ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it and find rest for your souls." ~Jeremiah 6:16

" And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyfully by which we arrive at the ground at our own feet, and learn to be at home."

~Wendell Berry

About Me

I am a homemaker, chicken herder, gardener and thrifter. Our life-learning family lives on hillside farm and forest with a menagerie of animals. This is a nest for the words and images to capture the wild wonder of it all.